Girlfight

Released 2000
Stars Michelle Rodriguez, Jaime Tirelli, Paul Calderon, Santiago Douglas, Ray Santiago, Elisa Bocanegra, Shannon Walker Williams
Directed by Karyn Kusama

As the title implies, the picture tells the story of a would-be girl boxer. Diana Guzman (Michelle Rodriguez in a coming-out performance that is equal parts fire and luminosity) is a frequent troublemaker at school, where she's just a few months shy of graduation. However, her propensity for getting into fights has her one demerit away from expulsion. She has no boyfriend, and her few female friends are wary of her volatile nature. Her home life isn't much better. Her mother has been dead for years and there's a slow-burning, mutual antagonism between Diana and her father (Paul Calderon). The only one she seems to care for is her geeky brother, Tiny (Ray Santiago). One day, after dropping something off at the Brooklyn Athletic Club, Diana decides that she wants to take boxing lessons. She coaxes one of the coaches, Hector (Jaime Tirelli), to teach her for $10 a session. Soon, she is channeling her hostility and energy into the sport and is becoming less disruptive at school. At home, however, her relationship with her father edges closer to an explosion of physical violence.

Summary by James Berardinelli

If anyone tells you this is a boxing movie, they've missed the point. It's about a girl finding a constructive channel for her rage. It's also about a girl (literally) fighting her macho culture to find her place in life. It's perfectly paced, and the tone is right on. I was really hooked until the ending. For a movie that really isn't about boxing, why did it have to end with a gimmicky fight? To its credit, it doesn't make an enormous deal about the outcome, but the whole thing is a gimmick. It never should have ended that way. I would have liked resolution with her father instead, whether it would have been her moving out or him trying to reconcile. That was a loose thread that was much more important than any boxing outcome. Despite that, it's still well worth seeing. Michelle Rodriguez is outstanding in her debut role, and she carries this film. --Bill Alward, July 18, 2001